“Boys Will Be Boys” or Budding Criminal: Differentiating Youthful Offenders

摘要

The issue of serious juvenile crime often challenges Western society's ideas about both the nature of human development and the nature of justice. This article examines the criteria legal decision-makers use to differentiate youthful offenders for the purpose of placement in rehabilitative or crime-control-focussed systems, in particular highlighting Victoria's unique dual-track system in Australia. The underlying factors considered to be relevant in these cases are identified as the age of the offender and subsequent maturity/impressionability, treatability of the offender, character, and characteristics of the offence that elevates its perceived seriousness - particularly vicious or uncommon features. The Risk-Sophistication-Treatment-Inventory (RST-I), an instrument designed in the United States, is identified as a potential tool for meeting the specific needs of mental health professionals who provide advice to courts on matters of youthful offender placements. However, cross-cultural limitations of the RST-I are highlighted.View full textDownload full textKey wordscourt transfer, juvenile, risk assessment, youth placementRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2010.501779